The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a consortium led by the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation. These PPAs will procure power from two key wind projects – the 600MW AlGhat project and the 500MW Wa’ad Alshamal project.
This comes as part of Round 4 of the Saudi National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), which is supervised by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy.
The deals were signed during the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 Business Forum, with SPPC as the principal buyer.
Record-breaking wind power costs
Moreover, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi minister of energy, stated that the AlGhat project achieved a new record low cost of 1.56558 cents/kWh for electricity production from wind power. Similarly, the Wa’ad Alshamal project set a second world record low of 1.70187 cents/kWh for wind power.
Read more: Saudi ACWA Power signs $1.5 billion wind energy deal with Egypt
Powering residential units
The Minister further emphasized that the electricity produced from these two projects is sufficient to power 257,000 residential units per year, highlighting the significance of these projects in enhancing energy efficiency in Saudi Arabia.
Prince Abdulaziz commended the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their encouragement, support, and oversight, which has enabled the Ministry of Energy and the broader energy ecosystem to work towards achieving the Vision 2030 targets in the energy sector.
National renewable energy program
Additionally, the Minister further explained that these projects are part of the National Renewable Energy Program, which aims to utilize vast lands to harness renewable energy resources and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to around 50 percent by 2030.
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